Siege of Zutphen (1337)

The Siege of Zutphen occurred from 1337 to 1338 when the Duke of Guelders, Reginald II, laid siege to the major Dutch city of Zutphen, which had risen against his rule in an anti-English revolt at the start of the Hundred Years' War. Reginald took the city by storm and proceeded to massacre 1,130 of its inhabitants when it became clear that Zutphen intended to launch another revolt.

Background
At the start of the Hundred Years' War in 1337, the Dutch-German principality of Guelders was ruled by Reginald II "the Black", the brother-in-law of King Edward III of England as the husband of Eleanor of Woodstock. Guelders, like the neighboring County of Flanders to the south, had strong pro-English and pro-French factions, and, by the start of the war, much of Holland had been overtaken by rebellious lords seeking independence from both Holy Roman and English interests. This left Reginald II without a power base, and he and his army proceeded to besiege the major Dutch city of Zutphen (in present-day Gelderland), which had ousted the pro-English faction which supported Reginald's rule.

Siege
Reginald II laid siege to Zutphen in the winter of 1337, shortly after Edward III's declaration of war on King Philip VI of France. The Gelderlander army consisted of 240 longbowmen, 120 men-at-arms, and 300 local Frisian and Dutch mercenary spearmen and pikemen. The besieging army built a siege ram over the winter of 1337, and, before the January snows cleared at the start of 1338, Reginald II and his army assaulted the city. The defenders were demoralized, as they were outnumbered and were terrified at the sight of the notoriously rapacious mercenary soldiers in Reginald's affinity. The Gelderlander army succeeded in breaking down the gates with the ram and overwhelming the garrison, killing 296 rebels and capturing 18; the remaining 233 rebels then laid down their arms. However, upon entering the city, Reginald's soldiers were met with continued hostility from the locals. Rather than risk facing another uprising, Reginald had his men exterminate the populace, massacring 1,130 civilians in the process. The remaining residents of the depopulated and devastated city learned to submit to Reginald's rule, granting the pro-English cause a foothold in the Low Countries.